GUJRAT: The venue of the June 23 joint public meeting of the PML-Q and the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT) in Gujrat is yet to be finalised.

The police and the local administration said holding of such a show at GTS Chowk was disastrous for the security of leadership of both parties.

Senior PML-Q leader Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi is scheduled to arrive in his hometown on Saturday (today) where he is likely stay for at least four days to prepare for the gathering. He has scheduled meetings with party workers for the next two days at the Zahoor Elahi House.

PAT chief Dr Tahirul Qadri will be accompanied by at least 200 delegates belonging to overseas chapters of his Minhajul Quran group and they will stay at the Zahoor Elahi House for a night on June 23.

The PML-Q being host of the gathering had sought permission to hold the event first at Science College on GT Road. However, it later told the administration it wanted to organise the event at GTS Chowk. Official sources told Dawn following a thorough evaluation of both venues, the administration informed the local chapter as well as senior leadership of the PML-Q that the college was not a suitable venue due to insecure infrastructure. They said the GTS Chowk was termed outright disastrous for the security of public as well as the politicians.

In an official correspondence with all stakeholders, local police said it was impossible to provide proper security to a large public gathering considering PML-Q chief Chaudhry Shujaat, Pervaiz Elahi and Qadri were already under threat.

GTS Chowk does not have boundary walls and cannot be cordoned off; possible traffic jam can compromise security measures, the area is located close to Afghan residential localities, the distance between attendees and the stage will be difficult to maintain and proper parking arrangements cannot be made, the administration explains.

It said only the Zahoor Elahi Cricket Stadium near Kutchery Chowk could be a safe and secure venue for the event. An official said after the Lahore incident, local police and administration had become careful in choosing the venue and if the PML-Q insisted on holding the meeting at GTS Chowk, security arrangements would be made there. But in case of an untoward incident, the police would remind the politicians of warnings.

Published in Dawn, June 21st, 2014